BS Number Wise: Delhi's turnout in local elections is abysmal, shows data

Municipal polling doesn't draw crowds, and that's not just in India

Ishaan Gera | New Delhi
Last Updated at December 9, 2022 23:19 IST

Photo: Flickr/IncrediblyNuming (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

Kolkata is the only metropolis where the average turnout in the last three local elections was higher than state elections and comparable with the national ones

When India held its first national elections in 1951, 45.7 per cent of the population turned up to vote. That was remarkable for a largely illiterate and newly independent country. By the third general election in 1962, the turnout had risen to 55 per cent. That is higher than what most cities poll today for their local bodies.

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